Germany Books

The books arrived in good condition and promptly but surprised to receive three copies and charged for three copies when I only ordered one.

In the early '90's, I listened to a Christian radio progam called People to People which was begun by Bob George as an outreach to people who were "churched," but had missed the mark that true Christianity is really about having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

Amy George is Bob's wife. She was born in the Ukraine. I have heard her testimony and it is touching indeed. Her gentle manner comes through in her writing and her speech and her demeanor.

When Goodbye Is Not Forever was first published, I bought one and later bought multiple copies to give to friends with whom I taught school. Even now--some 12 or 13 years after it was published, I still am giving away copies to friends.

The most awesome example in the whole book for me related the story of Amy's father who had survived labor camps in Siberia. They were reunited some 40 years later. I will not totally give away the results of that meeting, but I will say that I cried, and I thanked God for His faithfulness and mercy to us.

I read this book several years after my husband and I lost our 12 year old son in an accident. After the period of intense grief, a sense of peace begins to take hold, and if, indeed, we are followers of Christ, we know that death is not the end. This book comforted me in ways that Amy George will never know this side of Heaven.

This true story of Amy George's childhood in Russia and Germany before and during World War II, is gripping! This is a book that is hard to put down once you start reading it. It is amazing to see how God had his hand on this family and worked out His plan for them.

If you have ever doubted that miracles happen to ordinary people, read this book. The story of Amy's life is one miracle after another. The greatest miracle is the joy and peace and love that radiate from Amy George. I've met her, and I can testify that her face shines with the joy of the Lord. She is a great lady. I had no idea that her history was so tragic until I was given a copy of this book, which I couldn't put down. Amy's story prompts me to praise Jesus for His goodness and mercy. I'm thankful to Amy for sharing her story; she has blessed my life.

Reading Goodbye Is Not Forever wasn't easy. As I flipped the pages one by one, tears would come down my cheeks. My husband and I were reading the book together. At times I had to let my husband continue the reading when it was still my turn to read since I couldn't anymore.

Having grown up in a communist country myself, for the first time in my life I was reading a story I could relate to. Amy's story, as she herself says, represents the untold stories of millions of people that suffered under communism and the Nazis.

Goodbye Is Not Forever is a book to be read by everyone because it speaks of God's unfailing love and faithfulness in the midst of suffering.

I am so impressed with the John Adams DVD set and wonder what Tom Hanks and his crew could do with this beautiful Trilogy written by George Blackburn. Anyone know him well enough to send him the series?

"The dream of going home will now actually come true. The thought is intoxicating. But try as you will, it is impossible to suppress the feeling that this is only a temporary pause before another push, or at least another training scheme - there has always been another." ~ George G. Blackburn ~

Mr. Blackburn, who earned his Military Cross (M.C.) for his effort in helping to save the Twente Canal Bridgehead in Holland, is truly a brilliant writer. "The Guns of Victory" is one of the most absorbing books I've ever read. His use of "You" instead of "I" is his way of transporting the reader into the war zone and gets the feeling that you are actually there experiencing the horrors of war.

This is the third and last volume of George Blackburn's engrossing trilogy of military books about World War II, which faithfully chronicles the last eight months of the war on the Western Front. This book is divided into four parts: Part One - September 6 thru November 8. It covers the Clearing of the Channel Ports and the Battle for the Scheldt; Part Two - November 9 thru February 15, which traces the troops settling in the Nijmegen salient near Groesbeek. Part Three - February 8 thru March 10 is all about the Thirty-Day Battle for the Rhineland. And the last part covers March 11 thru May 15 about Crossing the Rhine to Sever Holland from Germany. It also contains sixteen pages of twenty-nine black and white glossy photos from National Archives of Canada including a nice photo of Groesbeek Windmill taken by the author himself. Groesbeek Windmill was used by Mr. Blackburn, a Forward Observation Officer of the 4th Field Regiment with the Canadian Army, as an observation tower during winter of 1944 and 1945.

Last year in May, Mr. Blackburn took a 'sentimental journey' and attended the 60th anniversary of the VE-Day and participated in the unveiling of a commemorative plaque in Groesbeek Windmill, and memorial services at the Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery in Holland. He spoke with CTV News recalling his World War II experiences in the Netherlands saying: "We wished to God the Russians at that time would get to Berlin in time to defeat the Germans, so we wouldn't have to go back in it. But we knew that the end was going to be settled right there."

It was such a relief to read the last chapters of this World War II classic. It means the end of a nightmare and the achievement of victory, hence, "the resting of the guns." This is my very favorite from the trilogy for that simple reason alone. The last chapter of this book is entitled "The Resting of the Guns," wherein the Corps Commander, Divisional Commander, commanding officers, brigade commanders and all the infantry battalions participated in a solemn rite and saluted the guns before handing them over to the Dutch Government. The author described it as a "striking day of truth" and he was deeply touched with the simplicity and solemnity of this noble ceremony.

"As the first gun rolls slowly by, chuckling and clinking on its limber hook, there's a glowing awareness of just how deeply these cold, steel machines have endeared themselves to you. It's as though you're saying goodbye to old friends you shall never see again. . . then you hear a voice, as though from a great distance, saying: 'Well now . . . let's go and find something to drink.' And you realize the ceremony is over."

I salute Mr. Blackburn for writing his trilogy of books that are so moving and affecting, and to all his comrades, alive or deceased, for their heroic acts of courage, endurance, perseverance and bravery. They went to war to protect freedom and gain peace. They are truly the world's greatest heroes.

Mr. Blackburn is not just a good writer; he's an exceptionally great writer. He's also an award-winning composer having written a hauntingly beautiful and nostalgic "soldier's song" entitled "Are You Really There?" which he wrote for his wife, Grace Blackburn while he was in England during the war waiting for the invasion of France and overwhelmed by feelings of homesickness. The song conveys the sentiments of servicemen longing to be with their loved ones in the midst of war. The music video won three major awards: Silver Award at the 1999 Worldfest - New York, Silver Award at the 1999 Worldfest - Arizona, and Bronze Award at the 2000 CINDY Competition - California.

This book is a classic, a valuable piece of history and must be read by every generation. It merits my highest recommendation.

In this, the concluding chapter of Canadian war veteran George G. Blackburn's superb three-volume eyewitness history of our northern neighbor's involvement in the war in Europe, we find a truly stunning successor to the previous two volumes. As with "The Guns Of Normandy" volume, we discover a masterful narrative punctuating the combination of dramatic life and death struggles contrasted with moments of drumming ennui or utter despair. For the Canadian soldier on the ground, the several months following the heroic and costly landing on D-Day were seemingly a coda, a time that seemed unreal because while they had the enemy on the run, the remaining elements of the Wehrmacht fought savagely and well in the ensuing period of time. So, although many of the allies felt it was all over but the shouting, especially after the re-taking of Paris and much of France, as Blackburn shows us from the ground grunt's view, it was anything but over and done with.

This volume picks up the narrative thread where the previous volume left it, with the much-vaunted Canadian 4th Field Regiment ordered in to relentlessly pursue the Germans as they retreated through the treacherous topography of the flooded French area known as the `Low Country'. As the pursuit ensued, the soldiers began to reach the limits of their physical and emotional endurance. And the battle as it unfolded before them promised no respite from the hellish demands posed by an enemy with no real thought of surrendering or fleeing. Yet, as they knock the Wehrmacht from its hastily devised defense perimeters within the Scheldt estuary again and again, they gradually succeeded in creating the conditions for re-opening of Antwerp, and thus helped to unleash the productive power and formidable logistics trail previously left hanging for want of such a large and capable deep-water port.

In the midst of all this, the Canadians, along with the rest of the Allied forces, had to suffer through the worst winter in decades in the European theater in the open and on the ground, and many died from such harsh exposure to the elements. Yet the Germans, fighting under these horrific conditions, still were able to mount savage resistance as they fought even more ferociously even as they began to understand how desperate their situation was. And as they beat the foe back yard by yard, mile by mile, back across the Rhine, the Canadians are enlisted in the increased fight once more in the Battle of the Rhineland, the final push toward the German heartland. And, as victory finally comes, Blackburn assures us it was indeed a bittersweet experience, felt equally with measures of pride and relief, knowing the unbelievable ordeal of the last several years was finally over.

As with his other books, here Blackburn relates his personal experience with a wonderfully literate and engagingly approachable writing style, and he surely uses his journalist's experience and his obvious facility with words to great advantage here, adding immeasurably to our understanding of what the experience on the ground was in as the first fatal hours and days turned into weeks and months of savage fighting, as the Allies bludgeoned their ways through the brutal resistance of a frenzied Nazi war machine. This is a story we should hear again and again, as we rediscover once more how truly amazing the feat of both the Canadians in particular, but all the Allies in general, stood tall in the very face of tyranny and smashed it into smithereens, saving the world from what has to be considered the face of absolute evil. Mr. Blackburn writes with surprising intensity and emotion, and his sense of recall of particular events and existential circumstances for himself and his fellows is both impressive and quite moving at points in his narrative. This is first person history at its best, one that employs both a more objective coda to the book, which also serves to lend a more authoritative aura to the proceedings than would otherwise have been possible. I recommend not only this book, but the other two volumes as well. Enjoy!

Not sure who all these Yankees are reviewing the quintessential Canadian war memoir, but they have good taste.

Written in the second person, this book is unique, but it doesn't end there. Blackburn has a rare ability to recall small details and the entire story rings with authenticity. His stories run the gamut, as all good war memoirs do, from the sad to the hysterically funny.

Second Canadian Division seems to have produced few authors (unlike the First Division, with Mowat taking the lead) but those few that have put pen to paper have been incredibly good. Whitaker and Williams were best when recounting the history of others, and this memoir stands out above any war memoir written by a Canadian in any single war. All three books in the trilogy are a terrific source of information about the Canadian Army in the Second World War.

And a stirring tale it is!

In a magnificent trilogy by a former junior officer in the Canadian Royal Artillery, George Blackburn records his experiences as a Forward Observation Officer (FOO), and those of the Canadian 2nd Infantry Division in general, in World War II's western European campaign. The first book, WHERE THE HELL ARE THE GUNS?, covers the training in Canada and England of Blackburn's unit, the 4th Field Artillery Regiment, from its formation in 1939 to June 1944. The second book, THE GUNS OF NORMANDY, describes the 4th Field's actions in support of the 2nd Division in northern France from early July 1944 to its arrival at the Seine River in late August. This final installment, THE GUNS OF VICTORY, chronicles the advance from the Seine into the Third Reich via the Benelux countries to VE-Day, May 8, 1945.

Should you read this series, you will, like me, come away with a heightened and supreme regard for the valor of the Canadian Army from D-Day to the end of the war and the value of massed artillery to the combat efficiency and survival of infantry units. Blackburn's personal account is perhaps the best description of men in modern war that I've ever read. The author's narrative is not a detached one. He brings you along into the mud, cold, rain, fatigue, terror, devastation, and apocalyptic arty barrages of the conflict's leading edge.

There are too many excellent passages to enumerate, but I shall give two examples.

At one point, Blackburn's observation post is in a Dutch windmill on the very border of Germany. As the Army brass plans the advance into the Reich, the author's vantage point becomes widely heralded as having the best view of the ground to be fought over, and to it, as if on pilgrimage, come the high and low, including Lt.-Gen. Guy Simonds, Commander of 2nd Canadian Corps, and Lt.-Gen. Brian Horrocks, Commander of British XXX Corps. But the interesting perception by Blackburn is the way the various officer ranks used battlefield maps.

"Corps commanders ... planning the best use of 450,000 men, swept open hands across map boards ... Division commanders and brigade commanders, reviewing the role of their brigades and battalions, stroke their maps with two fingers held together. Then come battalion commanders using a single finger for similar purposes in meetings with company commanders. But when company commanders returned with platoon commanders, maps were marked with razor-sharp pencils."

Much later, at a company command post, the author comes upon a Major Stothers and the Company Sgt.-Major opening parcels from home mailed to men already killed, the contents distributed to the survivors, and enclosed letters put into a pile.

"(Stothers) hands one across the table to you without comment. It is a hand-written note of only a few lines: 'Dear Son, the papers tell us that it is very wet where the Canadians are fighting now. So please, Dear, always be sure to wear your rubbers and keep your feet dry.' When you look up at Stothers, he tells you that her boy is the one lying dead outside the back door, face-up in the rain."

As the war's end approached, Blackburn had the reputation of being the longest surviving FOO in the Canadian Army, and 4th Field gunners, not without affection, had a pool going, the money to be won by the man who correctly predicted when the Baker Troop FOO (Blackburn) "got it". Lucky for us, George survived to pen his memoirs. By the end of the third book, I can even forgive him for writing in the second person, a quirk that, in WHERE THE HELL ARE THE GUNS?, almost put me off. But, in no one of the volumes, in the photo section of each, did the author include a wartime picture of himself. That's the only deficiency in an otherwise superb literary accomplishment.

To George, who recently celebrated his 88th birthday on February 3rd, and his comrades-in-arms, living and dead, highest honor is due.

Note: George Blackburn, through his son Mark, personally sent me all three of his books. Thank you, Sir.

Hitler's Prisoners offers great insights into the horrors of the Nazi regime's "other victims." Caught in Hitler's unthinkable plan to rule over Europe, seven German cell mates tell their stories of how a once ordinary life can become a twisted nightmare in an inescapable Nazi Prison. It is definately a war story of another kind. I highly recommend this book.

This is truly an amazing account of the hardships the average man and woman faced in Nazi Germany. This book is intriquing and a must read for anyone interested in a real life historical account of Germany during World War II. I strongly recommend this book.

Once I picked up this book, I couldn't put it down. I was shocked by the plight of Erich Friedrich and his cell mates. A fascinating and intriguing real life story and account of the "Other" side of Germany that we so rarely hear about. I strongly recommend this book. For other readers please let me know of any other books similar to this one.

Thanks

Persons interested in the rise of Nazism and World War II, who have read the general histories of the era will appreciate these personal stories by citizens who lived in Germany at the time. "Hitler's Prisoners," told by Erich Friedrich (edited by his daughter Renate)about his imprisonment for criticizing Hermann Goering and aspects of the war, also is the story of six others who defied or offended the regime in various ways. None were Jews or committed Nazis: Franz's "crime" was that as a Jehovah's Witness he opposed war; Fritz was a socialist, Gerhard an aristocrat, Alex a dilettante. Willi deserted from the Wehrmacht, so there may be some justification for his fate, but
Richard's chapter is titled The "Good German." All the men experienced the pre-World War I years and the political, social and economic unrest that spawned Hitler's rise and Germany's militaristic conquest of Europe and Russia. These true accounts, from notes kept by the author, are written in the form of a novel: each man in turn tells the story of his life as he awaits trial and sentencing - usually execution. The author is last to tell of his upbringing in Thuringia, campaign service and wounding on the Russian front, and harrowing return to Germany, where he was subsequently arrested and imprisoned until July 1944. After the war's end, Friedrich was employed as a detective and civil servant, before moving to Virginia with his wife to live with their daughter's family. A must read for understanding the gradual eroding of law, justice and civility in the Germany of 1933-45.

Having grown up in Germany during the Third Reich - I was nine when World War II ended- I have read obsessively about this subject. The question, " How did it happen"? has perhaps no answer. But this book offers a salutary counterbalance to Goldhagen's one-sided "Hitler's Willing Executioners." How many of us would follow our conscience into such a prison as Franzl, the Jehova's Witness and Conscientious Objector, Fritz Römer, the Socialist, or Erich Friedrich, the author, endured for their convictions? Friedrich was arrested for not giving the Nazi salute, and for making disparaging remarks about Hermann Goering. The government acted legally, because what these prisoners did was against German law at that time. This book shows the American reader, who has no personal experience of a totalitarian regime, what it means to resist such a government.

I read this book when it first came out some years ago. It was a watershed event in my understanding of Hitler's rise to power (and of history generally). I'd read many accounts before, and have read many since, of Hitler's rise to power. But this book put paid to much sociological claptrap about "impersonal forces" and showed the tremendous contingency in Hitler's rise to power. Not only wasn't it inevitable, it wasn't even remotely probable -- until it happened. It took many circumstances and events with which Hitler had little or nothing to do, and numerous actions by people who were contemptuous of Hitler, who had no intention of helping him, and who lacked any inkling of the ferocity and speed with which Hitler and the Nazis would act upon obtaining power, to put him there. The fact that many small and seemingly inconsequential decisions resulted in one of the great catastrophes of history is a far more chilling and disheartening story than the notion that it was the inevitable product of historical forces.

In the book Hitler's Thirty Days to Power, Henry A. Turner argues that Adolf Hitler's rise to power is most evidently illustrated by examining the last thirty days before his appointment to chancellor of Germany in January 1933. Prior to reading Hitler's Thirty Days to Power I had been under the impression that Hitler had a much more active role in securing his position as chancellor of Germany before ascending to Fuhrer. Turner by taking the microscopic approach of only analyzing these thirty days clearly demonstrated that this was not the case. According to the author, Hitler's rise to power was the result of luck, the egos of other political figures, as well as the belief that he could be used simply as a pawn to gain favor of his dwindling amount of supporters. Had any one of these differentiate Hitler would not have been successful in securing the position as chancellor. Turner substantiates his claims through a variety of resources ranging from personal memoirs and newspaper articles from the period to journal publications of modern historians. The information he presented was mostly-well known to the scholarly world, however, the manner in which it manifested was innovative. By using a magnifying glass-like method to examine the month leading up to Hitler's establishment in power rather than the all encompassing approach, Turner gives the generally educated reader, such as me, a better insight to the schematics of Hitler's rise.

Furthermore, the individuals of the text come to life through an intense focus on what propelled them to reach conclusions that allowed Hitler power. The personalities of people like Franz von Papen and Paul von Hindenburg are revealed through these decisions. Turner does not simple state the events that occurred, but rather allowed his reader to envision internal turmoil that was suffered by these individuals in coming to their resolutions. An example of this would be the German President Paul von Hindenburg. Originally he vowed that Hitler would never gain the position of chancellorship. However, numerous overtures made by Papen, a good friend and former chancellor under Hindenburg, combined with the encouragement by his son Otto the President was convinced to allow Hitler the position he so coveted. Turner illustrates throughout the book the difficultly Hindenburg faced in reaching this conclusion. The narration permits the book a novel-like reading often reserved for fiction rather than history. Many other texts compel the audience to feel as if they had read solely the outcome of the events leading up to January 1933 instead of getting a vivid understanding of its cause. Hitler's Thirty Days to Power answers the problem of how Hitler came to power in a compelling and easy read. The narrative and the individuals engage the audience regardless of any negative or positive connotations surrounding them.

The only major flaw that I see with Hitler's Thirty Days to Power is the last chapter of the text. This chapter, "Determinacy, Contingency, and Responsibility," attempts mainly to answer two questions: Should anyone, other than Hitler, be held accountable for the atrocities of his reign because of their involvement in his rise to power and what would have happened had Hitler's reign not existed? The author answers the first charge with the assertion that "although impersonal forces may make events possible, people make events happen." Unforeseeable events might have occurred, but it is individuals like Papen and Hindenburg who are ultimately responsible for Hitler's reign regardless of their original intent. Although others like Hindenburg's son Otto might played a lesser role they still had a significant part therefore they are also to blame. I agree with these assertions, however, I they led me to disagree with Turner's assessment of the public. Turner sees the German public only at fault because of their lack of understand of the importance of their ability to replace their government figures. After WWI, Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated the throne at the demand and revolt by the general public. At this moment the power the people held was not failed to be recognized. I have a difficult time believing that less than twenty years later this power had all but been forgotten. Instead after reading Turner's text I have come to the conclusion that much like Hindenburg and Papen, the German public underestimated Hitler. Turner asserts that responsibility for Hitler's reign rests on those like Hindenburg and Papen for their underestimation of Hitler, than the general German public should also share the blame.

In addition, Turner's answering the question of what would have happened had Hitler not come to power seems unreasonable. The author suggests that had Hitler not come to power a military coup would have overtaken the government and the atrocities of WWII would have been avoided. It is difficult to make assumptions of what might had happened if Hindenburg or other resisted Hitler's rise to power. No one can say for certain the fate of the government at the end of the Weimer Republic had alternate approaches been taken. In addition, it is difficult to say that the atrocities of WWII would have been completely avoided. There had been for some times a growing resentment for both communism and the Jews. Perhaps, these crimes might have been on a lesser scale in which all of Europe was not involved. However, these atrocities regardless of their extent seemed destined to be committed because of the complacency of the German republic.

Overall Henry Ashby Tuner's Hitler's Thirty Days to Power was an excellent text. It provided a microscopic look into the last thirty days before Hitler obtained chancellorship which eventually led to his dictatorship. This approach was helpful in understanding how Hitler's rise to power. It allowed his audience to witness the key figures involved and their reasoning for being a part of the scheme. In addition, the reader also is provided with the sense that there were several opportunities to prevent Hitler's reign yet they were pushed aside. Furthermore, Turner showed the audience that although Hitler took advantage of the conflict between several key figures in government, it is these individuals like Papen and Hindenburg that are responsible for Hitler. They underestimated Hitler and their large egos led them to believe that they could ultimately control him. Turner's text is valuable to not only the study of history but also as a study for the future. The book teaches the world's governments that we should not underestimate those seeking or holding power. Most importantly, when an individual claims or even more brazenly writes a book on their political goals, like Hitler did with [...], perhaps we should see these claims or writings as absolute truths. Goals which people like Hitler intend to reach.

This well written book is a case study of how luck, personalities, and even simple spite can have major effects. At the end of 1932, the Nazi party seemed to be on the threshold of decline. Its fraction of the electorate was slipping, its finances were in disarray, and there was considerable dissent from both rank and file and leaders of the party. Many were dissatisfied with Hitler's strategy of pursuing supremacy through electoral politics. Some sectors of the party wanted to pursue revolutionary violence, others, like the influential organizer Gregor Strasser, thought that Hitler was throwing away great opportunities by insisting on the Chancellorship instead of accepting important cabinet posts in right wing coalition governments. At the end of January, 1933, Hitler was ensconced as Chancellor, some of his loyal lieutenants, like Goring, occupied crucial cabinet posts, and Hitler was able to initiate the 'back door' revolution that resulted in the Nazi domination of Germany.
Hitler obtained the Chancellorship, in part, because of his obdurate refusal to accept anything less as the price of participation in a governing coalition, a product of his messianic self-confidence. Turner shows well that Hitler was handed the Chancellorship as a result of a series of backstairs plotting involving former Chancellor Papen and members of President Hindenberg's circle, notably his son Oskar. Hitler was greatly underestimated by these individuals, and was underestimated just as greatly by the then Chancellor, General von Schleicher. Hitler does deserve credit for his persistence and his ability to hold his party together but as Turner shows very well, he was phenomenally fortunate and was gifted the Chancellorship because of court politics motivated to a great extent by spite and petty jealousy.
Turner concludes with a nice and concise discussion of a counterfactual alternative to Hitler's ascent to power. As Turner points out, when democracy failed in the inter-war period, and it did so frequently, the usual result was an authoritarian state dominated by traditional conservatives and the military. Fascist movements were present in some of these countries and were incorporated into these regimes as traditional conservatives sought to draw on the popular support mobilized by fascist movements, but in Hungary, Romania, and Spain, the more traditional right/military remained in control. With more capable right wing leadership in Germany, this would have been the probable outcome. The result would have been an authoritarian but not totalitarian state, one that was anti-Semitic but not genocidal. The German state would certainly have rearmed and Turner suggests that the most likely outcome would have been a more limited war with Poland. His speculations are reasonable.

This is a well-written and extensive explanation on the behind the scenes machinations, impelled by personal foibles and vendettas, that led to Hitler's being awarded the Chancellorship of Germany despite his party's never achieving a majority in or at the polls.

The book sets to rest many myths about how German industrialists finagled Hitler's ascension to power and exposes the inner workings and interactions of the multiple parties, politicians, and political hacks that actually, and often inadvertently, coalesced to create the power vacuum which Hitler filled. The book also explains why the Nazis were so interested in obtaining control of Prussia and its security forces. (The reason is that although there were 19 separate federal political entities in the Weimar Republic, by far the strongest political entity was Prussia, which contained 60% of both the total population and land in the country. In addition, the federal government's security forces were almost non-existent but Prussia had a force of some 50,000 men [half the size of the 100,000 man German army] that came under the control of whoever became the Ministry of the Interior in Prussia [who turned out to be Hermann Goering when Hitler gained power]. Not only that but Goering, as Ministry of the Interior of Prussia, then had the authority to deputize tens of thousands of Nazis as auxiliary police to carry out Hitler's goals.)

Perhaps the only real drawback to the book is that the introductory material on the Weimar Republic and its political processes is incomplete, making the transition to the core of the book a bit harsh.

Most people who have some knowledge of the climb to power of the Nazis think Hitler enjoyed an unbroken rise from the Beer Hall Putsch to the Chancellorship.

While true in the main, author Henry Turner in "Thirty Days, January 1933" describes how Hitler's party was waning in Germany and widely believed to have peaked with the last most recent elections in 1932. A good case can be made that it was ready to fall dramatically in terms of popular support and strength in the Reichstag if another election had been called to again try and form a workable governing coalition in Germany at the end of 1932. The Nazi Party's finances were in disarray. They had been seen as a protest vote by significant numbers in the July 1932 election and things had not gotten better under their expanding influence. In the November 1932 election, they lost 32 seats. Local Nazi organizations were in disarray, dispirited and some in rebellion over Hitler's refusal to participate in the government in any role except that of Chancellor. Dues were not coming in and the party could not have afforded another national election. In addition, there was a split at the top of the Nazi Party between Hitler and the administrative head, Gregor Starssor.

Germany was chaotic. No elected chancellor could govern with a majority in the Reichstag. The government was placed in the hands of a presidentially appointed chancellor (Kurt Schleicher) by President Hindenburg. The author compellingly chronicles the thirty day period in which Hitler and the Nazi's political fortunes were saved by: 1. the ineptness of Chancellor Schleicher; 2. the scheming of recent Chancellor Franz von Pappen; and, 3. The age and weakness of national figure President Paul von Hindenburg. Aiding the Nazi's also was Hitler's single-minded pursuit of the top spot of chancellor as well as a fortuitous minor state election which the Nazi's went all out for and were able to spin as an electoral comeback.

The bottom line is that an incredible line-up of weak politicians and unbelievable luck paved the way for Hitler to be named Chancellor by Hindenburg at the end of January, 1933. It is tragic to comprehend how Hitler could have been prevented; arguably should have been prevented by the operation of any kind of normal political environment. That he was able to ride incredible good luck and the stupid machinations of a handful of top politicians who thought they could control Hitler and bend him to their purposes is an interesting story.

This book is likely to appeal students of the Nazi period and will probably not interest the general reader. It literally focuses on the thirty day period with only a general overview of the growth of the Nazi Party in the 1920's and early 30's and a brief "what happened to the players after" section (most murdered by the Nazi state). Still, if you are interested in the subject, this book is pretty good.

How One Little Polar Bear Captivated The World (Knut)
This is an excellent book. My 6 yo grandson loves Polar BEars. I bought this and a plush bear for him. Now this is his favorite bedtime book--and he sleeps w/ his bear,

Children will love looking at the photographs of this cute little polar bear cub that was born and raised at the Berlin Zoo. His story related by the same team, a father and his two young daughters, that told the story of "Owen & Mzee" is captivating. End pages include information about polar bears, an explanation of their current plight, and suggestions about how to help protect polar bear habitat.

I just found out my mama is a man! By now he seems just like my mama and he did save my life. Here is the story.

In December 2006, my brother and I were born in Zoo Berlin. I don't remember this--my mama the man told me about it. I am so close with Thomas my mama that I understand much of what he says. Our bear mama did not care for us, so Thomas and the zoo took over when we were five hours old. A few days later my brother died and Thomas became totally devoted to my care. I had the best.

Thomas slept with me, he rubbed me, he fed me, he bathed me, rubbed baby oil into my fur, and he brushed me. See, Thomas really was my mama. When I was thirty-two days old, I finally got a name--Knut. Yes, I like it. Thomas named me. He even stayed with me constantly for the first four months like a real polar mama does in a den. Thomas told me so. He did not go home to his human family until I was four months old. I like them--they came to see us every day!

This book about my growing up time has other information besides what I have already told you. And wonderful photographs that children love. In fact, I was a celebrity here at the zoo for a long time. One man thought they should have left me to die when my polar mama deserted me. Hey, mister, no way! His letter to the editor made people mad. They started writing me 200 letters a week.

Thomas tells me when I am over a year old that I will probably want him to leave me alone--that polar bears like solitude. If he says so. But I am his son and I will listen. Listen, what I want you to take from this little talk is to take care of your planet. Global warming is reducing our living area. Some scientists think that polar bears may not be able to exist in the polar regions in your lifetime! I'm safe here in the zoo, but I do wonder what all that cold and ice and snow would be like. Maybe...Thomas says I would eat several seals a day in my natural habitat. Seals?

Knut
Zoo Berlin

Like many people across the globe, I was captivated by the story of Knut. So naturally when I discovered the book about the cutest little bear ever, I had to get it! The story is touching and the photographs are wonderful. I highly recommend this book to animal lovers, people with children and anyone who just enjoys a great true story!

Grade school children will be absolutely enthralled with the story of an baby polar bear no bigger than a snowball! Knut lives in Germany in a zoo, and he was lucky enough to meet Thomas who helped raise him.
Thomas fed Knut with a bottle, just like a human baby. He even taught him how to swim.

Knut was so cute and his story so amazing that he won the hearts of people all over the world, and now young readers can learn about him with this book that tells all about him. This is an excellent true story told beautifully with wonderful photographs to enhance the tale.

What a beautiful example of nonfiction for children to love!

If you have seen the 505 in the Musem of Science & Industry in Chicago read this book, or read the book and go see the U 505 in Chicago. It's about how thw US Navy captured the code book the enabled us to do a lot of damage to the U boat Waffen

This well written book illustrates two things. Hitler was out of his mind declaring war on the US and when the day of a weapon passes, it passes forever. As the American and British combined their intellegence and technical resources the U-Boats were doomed. The fascinating account in this excellent book of how it came to be is most interesting. How the US 10th Fleet contributed to overall victory and the sinking of so many U-Boats is one all of us cne be proud of. Ted Savas does a superb job of editng the book and recruited note Battle of the Atlantic historians to write the fact filled and well written chapters makes for a great read. By the time the US Navy captured the U-505, the Americans knew the position of the 505 before the Germans did. How they accomplished this and how they broke the code make this book a must read for all those interested in the subject.

An excellent overview of the entire U-boat campaign. As one who was a personal friend of Hans Goebeler I can say that this is indeed a fitting tribute to him and all the combatants from both sides. This book will take you from the very depths of the ocean to labratories in England and the United States. Each section is a gold mine to the researcher, history buff, or model maker. The foreward by Eric Topp is a history lesson in itself. I Highly recommend this book. D. Clayton Meadows Author of "OF ICE AND STEEL."

Ted Savas has provided this WWII navel warfare tyro with a remarkably well written and compiled history of German submarines, and the sailors who manned them. Coming from Silent Hunters II and SHIII, I was struck by the depth of persnal involvement in both the simulations and in, "Hunt and Kill." Almost as if the brilliant Romanian technicians who produced the SH simulations have referenced the very human aspects of the sailors as depicted in this book in their products. This work is masterfully organized, and the excitement never falters. Anyone interested in naval history, and all those involved with SHIII should not miss this book. Next stop will be Chicago, and U-505.

U-505 was the first enemy warship captured by the United States since the War of 1812. Much has been written about how Captain Daniel V. Gallery conceived of and successfully executed the plan that resulted in the capture of U-505. Hunt and Kill, from publisher Savas Beatie, is the first book to describe the complete history of U-505, from its commissioning as a warship in 1941 to its current status as an exhibit in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

Hunt and Kill is a collection of essays by leading naval historians and U-boat scholars. Editor Savas has selected papers that, in telling the story of U-505, also give telling insight into Germany's Kriegsmarine and the Allied naval and intelligence forces that opposed it. The book includes a foreword by former U-boat commander Erich Topp and individual chapters on specific topics:

"No Target Too Far: The Genesis, Concept, and Operations of Type IX U-boats in World War II," by Eric C. Rust. This chapter describes the rebirth of Germany's U-boat arm following the first World War, the classes of boats that served in World War II, and the role of the Type IX boats as long-range commerce raiders.

"A Community Bound by Fate: The Crew of U-505," by Timothy Mulligan. This essay focuses on the officers and sailors that served on U-505, from its first war patrol in August, 1941 until its capture in June, 1944. In this brief span of time, U-505's crew served under three Commanding Officers: charismatic and successful Kapitänleutnant Axel-Olaf Loewe; autocratic Oberleutnant Peter Zschech (who shot himself during a depth-charge attack); and Oberleutnant Harald Lange, a former merchant marine officer.

"From Lion's Roar to Blunted Axe: The Combat Patrols of U-505," by Lawrence Paterson. This chapter covers U-505's eleven war patrols prior to its capture by Gallery's Task Force 22.3. In these patrols, U-505 sank eight ships totaling 44,962 tons.

"Deciphering the U-boat War: The Role of Intelligence in the Capture of U-505," by Mark E. Wise and Jak P. Mallman Showell. In addition to the usual background information on Enigma, Ultra, and the code breakers of Bletchley Park and ONI, this chapter describes how the Allied benefited from their technical examination of U-505; testing of the submarine's T-5 acoustic homing torpedoes; and interrogation of her crew.

"Collision Course: Task Force 22.3 and the Hunt for U-505," by Lawrence Paterson. This chapter describes U-505's twelfth patrol and the actions of Gallery's Task Force 22.3, culminating in U-505's capture on June 4, 1944. Even though he had U-505's position reports (thanks to Ultra), Gallery was unable to locate his prey. Ironically, Gallery's task force stumbled on U-505 while returning to port for fuel.

"Desperate Decisions: The German Loss of U-505," by Jordan Vause. In this event-by-event analysis of Oblt. Lange's fateful encounter with Gallery's Hunter-Killer Force, Vause tries to answer the question, "Instead of abandoning ship, should Lange have ordered the crew to stay on board and fight back?" He identifies eight key decisions made by U-505's officers and crew in the final minutes before the sub's capture. He concludes, "...with a little luck, a little grace, anyone in the boat - from Captain Lange to the lowest fireman - might have written a different ending to one of the most remarkable events in American maritime history."

"Project 356: U-505 and the Journey to Chicago," by Keith Gill. The final, and by far the longest, chapter in Hunt and Kill concerns what has happened to U-505 in the 40 years since its capture. It is a story of one man's determination to prevent the Navy from destroying the submarine and to, instead, make U-505 a memorial to America's (and his own) wartime achievements. It is also a story of political machinations over what city should get the boat (Chicago or Milwaukee) and squabbling over who should pay for the boat's repair, transportation and long-term maintenance (the Navy, or the receiving city). Most interesting (to a former nuclear submariner like myself) are the technical details of how U-505 was towed to through the Great Lakes, lifted from the water, transported across city streets, and finally mounted on a special foundation outside Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry.

I bought a copy of Lisa and Lottie at a garage sale, so I first read it as an adult. Since it was written by a German in 1949, I thought it was a very lovely and clever metaphor for the Post World II division of Berlin. I later learned that Kastner had been blacklisted by the Third Reich and that his books had been burned. Am I that far off in my analysis? I'd be interested to learn what others think.

I read this book many, many years ago as I am 32 years old now, and havent forgot about! I have a daughter who is 10 years old, and cant wait to share it with her. This book has stuck with me for years!!! I would highly recommend this book to anyone!!! Such a great story!

I've read this book in Elementary School. I used to have a copy of it. It somehow got misplaced. Since of the moving I have done. I've also tried looking at libraries to find it. I haven't found it at a library. I believe this book belongs on the Children's Classice Literature. It really deserves that recognition. Disney made three sequel to the orginal one. Also the remake. Since, the Original Film is a classic so should the book!

I read this book as a ten-year old and it stuck with me for what has been the next seventeen years. Warm, wonderful, very charming. The ORIGINAL, BEST and should have been the ONLY version of the Parent Trap. I wish I had known that this book would be largely forgotten, I would have held on to my copy to share with my own kids.

I first discovered this book whilst searching for novels to serial-read to my class (I am a primary school teacher.) Having seen the original 'Parent Trap' and read 'Emil' as a boy, I felt Lottie and Lisa would be good to try. With one exception (a class containing mostly angry, macho boys), all my classes have enjoyed it, even loved it. Most children have seen the Parent Trap (sadly, most never saw the Hayley Mills version), and they are intrigued by the comparison in plots and characterisation. The reference to Shirley Temple and the double standards of American censorship at the time leave them puzzled, as does the excitement at the prospect that, when the busload of new girls arrives at the holiday home, 'one of them might have a ball (to play with'). Explaining to them that this book was written shortly after WW2 when toys were in short supply in Germany, helps them understand.

WARNING: Any teacher reading this to a class of 8-12 year olds, be ready - Chapter 9 is an emotional minefield: I've noticed my voice getting shaky towards the end of it. Just letting you know.

very well written and detailed - I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in the Third Reich

Dr. Bruno Manz has written an honest, searing story of his experiences growing up in the Third Reich with a father who he loved but who was an enthusiastic Nazi. First person accounts of this quality are rare and valuable, giving those of us who are curious as to how a civilized nation like Germany could turn itself into the soulless, mechanistic killing machine it became under Hitler a look at how ordinary people contributed, by omission or commission, to the coming horror. Dr. Manz has more than atoned for his own omissions by writing this excellent, gripping book, which I recommend to anyone interested in this perplexing episode of history.

This book was interesting, earnest, candid and filled with the author's personal angst for having been duped, first by his Nazi father and then by Hitler. I disagree with some of the other reviews in that I didn't find it penetrating or searing. Bruno Manz stabs but fails at soul-searching.

In some ways it is repetitive. The author explains again and again how he was brainwashed into Nazism from youth to young adulthood. He digresses into various life experiences with teachers, schools, childhood friends, military experiences and lesser details of life. All of which he thinly connects to his primary purpose for the memoir, exorcising his personal demons over blindly serving Hitler. Many of those digressions would be unremarkable without that connection. Bruno uses those vignettes to underscore that he was misguided but they fail to reveal, illuminate or prove how any particular incident, mentor or authority figure contributed to his blind devotion to Hitler. In fact, he frequently recounts how he internally rebelled against school authorities, military authorities, rules and procedures that didn't make common sense or rubbed him the wrong way. If that is so, then he should have self analyzed further to determine how and why he dismissed his conscience when it called about Hitler, the concentration camps and the Jews. He continued to follow the grand lie and served as essentially a political officer in youth organizations and later in the military. He recounts that he was never very enthusiastic and harbored doubts, yet he continuously pressed on. Example on pg 69, he describes a school director quoting Hitler's credo, "He who wants to live, let him fight. And he who does not want to fight in this world of eternal struggle does not deserve to live." Bruno expresses misgivings when the school director says that is more religion than a person would ever find in the Bible. He admits agreeing with the anti-Semitism and anti-Catholicism of the director but boycotts his classes from then on. Methinks he doth protest too much.

Don't get me wrong, Bruno Manz clearly, genuinely, honestly apologizes for his personal role in Germany's evil shame. He denounces all that he was and embraces all that he has become since the war and particularly while living in America. But in the end about all that Bruno confirms is that, at least between 1915 and 1946, Germans were weak for rhetoric, easily swayed by romantic and heroic figures, and followed the crowd. He doesn't dig deep enough to reveal how that was possible. Were they greedy, mad, angry, vulnerable, ambitious, fearful, bombastic, maniacal, weak, bloodthirsty, gullible? Personally, he was swayed by Dad while impressionable and later by Hitler via Goebbels propaganda machine. OK, we already know that about every German during WWII. Bruno, why and how were you vulnerable to that when the rest of the world was not? Why do some Germans today continue to deny the Holocaust? Why is there an element that still deifies Hitler and anti-Semitism?

I suspect that Bruno cannot to this day accept his own cowardice. He never dared to disagree or question his father, although he credits his mother and older brother with being able to avoid anti-Semitic hatred and Hitler worship. He wouldn't dare question his Nazism or the Fuhrer because he very likely knew it would mean his death or imprisonment. Hmmm, that may be the self evident truth every German citizen who willingly participated in Nazism has to face. They didn't take any contrary action because it was someone else who was being victimized and they were cowards. So, while he may have achieved some catharsis, I doubt that he completely exorcised the regret and shame he aimed for. Still, the book has some value derived from its basic honesty and first person account.

A Mind in Prison is a powerful and moving personal account of life as a committed Nazi, a soldier on the Eastern Front, and the difficult and painful realization that everything the author once stood for was evil and destructive. The candor of this book is both startling and refreshing because it gives the reader tremendous insight into the corrosive power of Nazi propaganda and ideology. For the author to admit thinking and acting like he did must have been a painful experience, but it gives this account a sharp edge of credibility that might otherwise be lacking. In fact, it is that candor that makes this story so heartrendering. The world would be a much better place if more people would break their silence about the tragedy of Nazi Germany and share their experiences and feelings as openly and sincerely as Dr. Manz has.

This book is basically the author's way of exorcising his personal demons. Manz grew up idolizing a man named Adolf Hitler, whom most Germans believed to be a sort of messiah sent to save them from the devastating poverty and national humiliation following the Treaty of Versailles. The book chronicles how Manz (and many other pro-Nazi Germans then) got to believe in the things he did, and his eventual disillusionment with the Third Reich.

Did the German civilians know about the atrocities of the concentration and extermination camps? Over the recent years, this question has loomed large in works concerning WWII in the European theater. Manz can't answer for every German during that period, but he gives us HIS story as an offering to further understanding in this matter.

This book struck a very personal chord with me. Although I was born decades after WWII, I grew up in a country where the press (in fact, every type of media - books, TV, movies, etc.) was heavily censored by the national government. The government told people what to think, what to say, when to assemble, and throws those who defy their orders in jail under the holy name of "national security". As a result, I totally understand how mind-numbing propoganda can be. A population, after all, is merely a collection of individuals living in a state. An individual's morals and personal biases are largely dependent on what information they have available to them. Hitler understood this very well, and with the help of his propoganda minister, Goebbels, managed to shape the thinking of an amazingly large portion of the German population, including the author's.

Manz is all the more convincing because he doesn't get overly apologetic, but does admit that he's not in any way proud of all that he has done (he was a Hitler Youth, and later a soldier in the German army). He feels very strongly for the victims of the Third Reich (the book is dedicated to them), and although he was never in direct contact with any official programs dealing with the "Jewish problem", regrets that he couldn't have done more.

It is very touching to read books by those who were on the "wrong" side of the war, especially those with a sense of morality (however late it surfaced) like Manz. This book is an important reminder to us of how dangerous bigotry can be, especially when it is led by an eloquent and convincing tyrant.

I've taken several seminars at UCLA with Saul Friedlander, and to say that he is an objective and very insightful historian is an understatement. This book is terrific and deserves all the critical praise that it has received. Even if you are just curious about the Holocaust, or you are a serious historian of the time period, you should definitely pick this book up.

Nazi Germany and the Jews is part one of the two set history of the Nazi reign of terror from Hitler's ascent to the chancellorship of Germany on January 30, 1933 to the regime's collapse in 1945. Volume I focuses on the years of persecution of the Jews from 1933 to the outbreak of World War II in the autumn of 1939. As the infamous Goering said, "I would not want to be a Jew in Germany".
Friedlander was born as a Jew in Prague, lived in occupied France during World War II and now teaches in Tel Aviv and UCLA. His book is a blunt, basic and brutal evocation of what it was like to be a Jewish individual in the Dantean hell of Hitler's unspeakably cruel Third Reich.
In plain language we see how the Nazis used German law to dispossess the Jews of their professions, homes, possessions and lives. We have explained the Nuremburg Laws of 1935 which gave definition to who is a Jew. It was horrible for this reader to witness the Crystal Night destruction of almost 300 synagogues and nearly 100 murders of Jews on the night of November 9-10, 1938. We see how concentration camps were set up administered by cold killer Himmler and his murderous SS thugs.
Friedlander posits that Adolf Hitler believed Jews to be behind the World Communist movement. It was Judaism and Communism he wanted to eradicate from the face of the earth. While most people turned their faces away from the horrors the Jews disappeared from German life. Goebbels and Nazi propoganda portrayed Jews as vermin which needed destruction if the Aryan German blood and folk were to be preserved.
As volume one ends the war has begun. Volume II covers the war years and the concentration camps where over six million Jews and other captive people would be murdered.
This book is written in a scholarly but understandable style for the general reader. It is one of the essential books you should read to inform yourself of a tragic time.

This book is an excellent book for anyone wanting to learn about the rise of Fascism in Germany. It is factual and yet easy to read. Anyone that wants to understand how Hitler got his power should read this. The author's bias is kept to a minimum.

This is a wonderful book albeit with few personal experiences of the victims but on the whole you will enjoy the book. The writer's grasp of English is exceptional and in fact taking this parameter alone you can enjoy the book and learn something new in word and sentence formations. Though at first glance it may look like one of those boring and dry books, which inhabit the shelves of libraries all over the book without being opened for many years to come. The book is excellent and shows the level of utter nadir reached by Nazis and German people while persecuting their own. Seems to have been a sort of a collective disease in which even a modicum of humanity or decency taken a permanent back seat. The author has presented the facts and names of very difficult and guttural German names with such ease that there is no confusion to the reader.

I wonder why Israelis have to have any kind of relationship with Germany or Poland. . I think Israeli children are not really taught history but some kitsch formulated to draw their minds away from the murderers of their grandfathers to Palestinians. I think Israelis pretend that the Palestinians are the Germans of 1930's and 1940's, hence the highly ambiguous stance and conflicting gestures. Though it must be remembered that Arabs briefly flirted with Nazis like the Great Indian Leader Subhash Chandra Bose who fought against British imperialism - who excelled in demonstrative racial discrimination that was religiously followed by Germans with such ardor. I support the bombarding of German cities and also of the London Blitz. No doubt such "innocent" darlings hugely deserved each other.

This is an outstanding history. It is measured, detailed and backed by meticulous research. It is by far the best of this genre

The shame is that the much anticipated sequel is now not planned for publication.

But half a classic is better than none

This is a seemingly accurate and easy to follow presentation. Manuals like this are hard to find. I was able to take it and within the space of a week employ many new gambits in my practice. I would have considered most of these beforehand to be inaplicable at speed or too awkward to quickly learn. Very direct and clearly illistrated. If you're part of any of the medieval re-enactment groups out there this book will be very rewarding.

This is an excellent book. It is a great place to start. Having said that, there is nothing like having a good Western Martial Arts instructor though.

This is an excellent interpretation of Ringeck's manual. It offers clear concise instruction, guiding the reader and practitioner towards a very good understanding of the German Longsword combat system. Excellent read. The glossary alone is exceptional, explaining common and relatively obscure terms in comprehensible language.

This is David Lindholm in a subject he knows and masters. The book is well written and concise, the illustrations and interpretations sound and easy to grasp. An excellent addition to any WMA library.

Well presented and thought out. We use this manual in our sword class.